Bodycote's exposure to macroeconomic performance means that it suffers from a certain level of sales volatility. A substantial proportion of Bodycote's sales are closely linked to the economic cycle. Sales in the markets served by the AGI businesses (64% of the total Group) tend mainly to develop in line with or ahead of the economic cycle, whereas ADE sales (36%) tend to track behind the economic cycle. Sales can also be impacted by energy prices which in turn can be affected by general economic activity. The high proportion of fixed costs in the business means that a drop in sales may have a significant impact on profitability. However Bodycote's presence in 26 countries in a wide variety of end-markets acts as a natural hedge to neutralise localised economic volatility. Nevertheless, the Board is mindful of the potential impact on demand for the Group's services.

Bodycote benefits from many long-term relationships with key customers. Damage to, or loss of, any of these relationships would be detrimental to Group results and could affect the viability of one or more of Bodycote's facilities. However, the Board believes this is unlikely as Bodycote strives to provide a high level of customer service and the Group's network of strategically located facilities ensures that it is the supplier of choice to these major manufacturers. Furthermore there is no significant customer dependency, with the Group's top ten customers accounting for less than 13% of sales and the balance made up by many thousands of customers.

Bodycote is reliant on its ability to attract, develop and retain staff of the right calibre to support its growth strategy. Competition for capable resources is high and there is a risk that Bodycote may not be able to attract or retain skilled individuals. As a market leader Bodycote is seen as a source of talent by competitors, while the Group competes with employers from a wide range of sectors to attract staff into the business.

Bodycote is committed to providing a safe work environment for its employees. The nature of Bodycote's activities presents safety and health risks which can have a significant impact on individual employees. Furthermore poor safety and health practices could lead to disruption of business, financial penalties and loss of reputation.

Bodycote is committed to providing the highest level of protection to the environment. Environmental contamination could lead to health risks, disruption of business, financial costs and loss of reputation.

Historical use of chlorinated solvents and other hazardous chemicals by plants operated by Bodycote or by plants acquired by Bodycote could have led to ground contamination. The environmental regulations in many of the jurisdictions in which Bodycote operates impose actual or potential obligations on Bodycote to remediate contaminated sites. Bodycote incurs costs annually (2013: £1.6m) in meeting its obligations and has a provision of £13.2m at 31 December 2013 in respect of required environmental remediation costs. If the provision is insufficient to meet the cost of remediation, then this could have an impact on the Group's results. Some of the Group's heat treatment plants continue to use chlorinated solvents and hazardous chemicals in small quantities.

The Bodycote brand is reliant on the repeatable delivery of parts to agreed specification to an agreed time. Deterioration in quality or service levels could cause serious long-term damage to Bodycote's reputation with financial consequences such as the loss of a customer and the cost of damages or litigation. Work that is released into use which is not in compliance with specification could arise as a result of system or human failure. Bodycote has stringent quality systems in place managed by qualified staff. Where necessary, plants have relevant accreditations such as ISO 9001, Nadcap and TS 16949.

Bodycote's business processes have inherent risks and there is a possibility that a major fire or utility outage could lead to closure of a facility's operation. In addition a number of sites are exposed to natural hazards, such as earthquakes, flooding and storms. As a result there is a possibility that service to Bodycote's customers from the affected site could be disrupted. However Bodycote's global network of over 190 plants creates a framework to provide backup capability for any affected facility.

The efficient operation of the Group will rely increasingly on the proper development and operation of its IT systems. Bodycote is currently undergoing a Group-wide implementation of a new ERP system. The impact of the re-engineered business process will have significant long-term benefits on Bodycote's operational effectiveness. However, failure to manage the implementation programme successfully could result in cost overruns and potentially, disruption to the business.

The global nature of Bodycote's operations means that the Group has to comply with a wide range of local and international legislative requirements, including anti-bribery and anti-competition legislation, taxation legislation, employment law and import and export controls. Failure to comply with legislation could lead to substantial financial penalties, disruption to business, diversion of management time, personal and corporate liability and loss of reputation.